Light emitting diode chip having distributed bragg reflector and method of fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention disclose a light emitting diode chip including a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, a light emitting structure arranged on the first surface of the substrate and including an active layer arranged between a first conductive-type semiconductor layer and a second conductive-type semiconductor layer, a distributed Bragg reflector arranged on the second surface of the substrate, the distributed Bragg reflector to reflect light emitted from the light emitting structure, and a metal layer arranged on the distributed Bragg reflector, wherein the distributed Bragg reflector has a reflectivity of at least 90% for light of a first wavelength in a blue wavelength range, light of a second wavelength in a green wavelength range, and light of a third wavelength in a red wavelength range.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/023,876, filed on Feb. 9, 2011, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/917,937, filed on Nov. 2, 2010, and claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0013166, filed on Feb. 12, 2010, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0115347, filed on Nov. 19, 2010, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0109870, filed on Nov. 13, 2009, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a light emitting diode chip and a method of fabricating the same, and to a light emitting diode chip having a distributed Bragg reflector and a method of fabricating the same.

2. Discussion of the Background

A gallium nitride-based light emitting diode chip emitting blue or ultraviolet wavelength light may be used for various applications. In particular, various types of light emitting diode packages emitting mixed color light, for example, white light required for a backlight unit, general lighting, or the like, have been marketed.

Since the light output from the light emitting diode package may depend on the light emission efficiency of the light emitting diode chip, research to improve the light emission efficiency of the light emitting diode chip has been continuously conducted. In particular, attempts to improve the light extraction efficiency of the light emitting diode chip have been performed. For example, technology of forming a metal reflector or a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) on a bottom surface of a transparent substrate such as a sapphire substrate has been researched.

FIG. 1 shows reflectivity measured by forming an aluminum layer on the bottom surface of a sapphire substrate according to the related art.

It can be appreciated from FIG. 1 that in the case of the sapphire substrate on which the aluminum layer is not formed, reflectivity of about 20% is shown, but in the case of the sapphire substrate on which the aluminum layer is formed, reflectivity of about 80% is shown over a visible wavelength range.

FIG. 2 shows the reflectivity measured by the DBR formed by periodically applying TiO₂/SiO₂ to the bottom surface of the sapphire substrate according to the related art.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the DBR is formed to reflect light emitted from the light emitting diode chip, for example, emitted light having a peak wavelength of 460 nm. FIG. 2 shows that reflectivity in the light emitting diode using the DBR may reach approximately 100% in a blue wavelength range, for example, a wavelength range of 400 to 500 nm.

However, the DBR can only increase the reflectivity for a part of the visible range. Therefore, the reflectivity for other ranges is considerably lower than that shown in FIG. 2 for the wavelength range of 400 nm to 500 nm. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the reflectivity for a wavelength of about 520 nm or more is suddenly reduced while most of the reflectivity is less than 50% at a wavelength of 550 nm or more.

Therefore, when mounting the light emitting diode chip using the DBR in a light emitting diode package to emit white light, the DBR shows high reflectivity for light of the blue wavelength range emitted from the light emitting diode chip but the DBR does not show efficient reflection characteristics for light emitted in the green and/or red wavelength ranges. Therefore, there is a limit in improving the light emission efficiency of the light emitting diode package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a light emitting diode chip capable of increasing light emission efficiency of a light emitting diode package implementing a mixed color light, for example, white light, and a method of fabricating the same.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide a DBR having high reflectivity over a wide wavelength range and a light emitting diode chip having the same.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention discloses a light emitting diode chip including a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, a light emitting structure arranged on the first surface of the substrate, the light emitting structure including an active layer arranged between a first conductive-type semiconductor layer and a second conductive-type semiconductor layer, a distributed Bragg reflector arranged on the second surface of the substrate, the distributed Bragg reflector to reflect light emitted from the light emitting structure, and a metal layer arranged on the distributed Bragg reflector. The distributed Bragg reflector has a reflectivity of at least 90% for light of a first wavelength in a blue wavelength range, light of a second wavelength in a green wavelength range, and light of a third wavelength in a red wavelength range.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also discloses a method of fabricating a light emitting diode chip, the method including forming a light emitting structure on a first surface of the substrate, removing a portion of the substrate by grinding a second surface of the substrate, and after the grinding, reducing the surface roughness of the second surface of the substrate by lapping the substrate, and forming a distributed Bragg reflector on the second surface of the substrate. The light emitting structure includes a first conductive-type semiconductor layer, a second conductive-type semiconductor layer, and an active layer disposed between the first conductive-type semiconductor layer and the second conductive-type semiconductor layer.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further is explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a graph showing reflectivity of aluminum on a sapphire substrate according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing reflectivity of a distributed Bragg reflector on the sapphire substrate according to the related art.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a light emitting diode chip having the distributed Bragg reflector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a magnified cross-sectional view of the distributed Bragg reflector of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a distributed Bragg reflector according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a light emitting diode chip having a plurality of light emitting cells according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view showing a light emitting diode chip having a plurality of light emitting cells according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a simulation graph showing a change in reflectivity of a distributed Bragg reflector according to an incident angle.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B each show examples of improving reflectivity for long wavelength incident light at an incident angle of 50° and 60° by increasing the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B each are plan views showing the distributed Bragg reflector after a dicing process is performed.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector according to the presence and absence of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) after the sapphire substrate lapping process by a copper surface plate.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the reflectivity after an aluminum reflective metal layer is deposited on the distributed Bragg reflector manufactured in the similar manner as FIG. 11.

FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15 are graphs showing the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector according to a size of a slurry particle during the lapping process using a tin surface plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention is to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a light emitting diode chip 20 having the distributed Bragg reflector 45 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 4 is a magnified cross-sectional view of the distributed Bragg reflector 45 of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, a light emitting diode chip 20 includes a substrate 21, a light emitting structure 30, and a distributed Bragg reflector 45. In addition, the light emitting diode chip 20 may include a buffer layer 23, a transparent electrode 31, a p-electrode pad 33, an n-electrode pad 35, a reflective metal layer 51, and a protective layer 53.

The substrate 21 is a transparent substrate, for example, a sapphire or a SiC substrate, but not specifically limited thereto. An upper surface, i.e., front surface of the substrate 21 may have a predetermined pattern, such as a patterned sapphire substrate (PSS). Meanwhile, an area of the substrate 21 determines the entire chip area. In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as the chip area of the light emitting diode chip is relatively increased, the reflection effect is increased. Therefore, the area of the substrate 21 may be 90,000 μm² or more. In some embodiments, it may be 1 mm² or more.

A light emitting structure 30 is positioned on the substrate 21. The light emitting structure 30 includes a first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25, a second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29, and an active layer 27 interposed between the first and second conductive-type semiconductor layers 25 and 29. In this configuration, the first conductive-type layer 25 and the second conductive-type layer 29 have a conductive type opposite to each other. The first conductive-type may be an n-type, and the second conductive-type may be a p-type, or vice versa.

The first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25, the active layer 27, and the second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29 may be made of a gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor material, that is, (Al, In,Ga)N. The constituent elements and composition of the active layer 27 are determined to emit light of a required wavelength, for example, ultraviolet or blue light. The first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25 and/or the second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29 may be formed in a single layer structure as shown or a multi-layer structure. In addition, the active layer 27 may be formed to be a single quantum well structure or a multi quantum well structure. In addition, a buffer layer 23 may be interposed between the substrate 21 and the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25.

The semiconductor layers 25, 27, and 29 may be formed using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technology or a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology and a region of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25 may be patterned to be partially exposed using a photolithography and etching process.

Meanwhile, the transparent electrode layer 31 may be formed of, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO) or Ni/Au, on the second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29. The transparent electrode layer 31 serves to spread current due to a lower specific resistance than the second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29. A p-electrode pad 33 is formed on the transparent electrode layer 31 and an n-electrode pad 35 is formed on the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25. As shown, the p-electrode pad 33 may be electrically connected to the second conductive-type semiconductor layer 29 through the transparent electrode layer 31.

Meanwhile, the distributed Bragg reflector 45 is positioned on the lower portion, i.e., rear surface of the substrate 21. The distributed Bragg reflector 45 includes a first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and a second distributed Bragg reflector 50.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 is formed by repeating a plurality of pairs of first material layers 40 a and second material layers 40 b and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 is formed by repeating a plurality of pairs of third material layers 50 a and fourth material layers 50 b. The plurality of pairs of first material layer 40 a and second material layer 40 b have relatively higher reflectivity for light of a red wavelength range, for example, 550 nm or 630 nm, than for light of a blue wavelength range and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 may have relatively higher reflectivity for light of a blue wavelength range, for example, light of 460 nm than for light of a red or green wavelength range. In this case, the optical thickness of the material layers 40 a and 40 b within the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 is thicker than the optical thickness of the material layers 50 a and 50 b within the second distributed Bragg reflector 50, or vice versa, without being limited thereto.

The first material layer 40 a may be the same material as the third material layer 50 a, that is, have the same refractive index (n), and the second material layer 40 b may be the same material as the fourth material layer 50 b, that is, have the same refractive index (n). For example, the first material layer 40 a and the third material layer 50 a may be made of TiO₂ (n equals about 2.5) and the second material layer 40 b and the fourth material layer 50 b may be made of SiO₂ (n equals about 1.5).

Meanwhile, the optical thickness (refractive index×thickness) of the first material layer 40 a may substantially have the relationship of an integer multiple with the optical thickness of the second material layer 40 b, and the optical thicknesses thereof may be substantially the same as each other. In addition, the optical thickness of the third material layer 50 a may substantially have the relationship of an integer multiple with the optical thickness of the fourth material layer 50 b, and the optical thicknesses thereof may be substantially the same is as each other.

In addition, the optical thickness of the first material layer 40 a may be thicker than that of the third material layer 50 a and the optical thickness of the second material layer 40 b may be thicker than that of the fourth material layer 50 b. The optical thickness of the first to fourth material layers 40 a, 40 b, 50 a, and 50 b may be controlled by controlling the refractive index and/or thickness of each material layer.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the reflective metal layer 51 of Al, Ag, or Rh, or the like, may be formed on the lower portion of the distributed Bragg reflector 45 and a protective layer 53 for protecting the distributed Bragg reflector 45 may be formed thereon. The protective layer 53 may be made of any one metal layer of, for example, Ti, Cr, Ni, Pt, Ta, and Au or an alloy thereof. The reflective metal layer 51 or the protective layer 53 protects the distributed Bragg reflector 45 from external impact or pollution. For example, the reflective metal layer 51 or the protective layer 53 prevents the distributed Bragg reflector 45 from being deformed from a material such as an adhesive when the light emitting diode chip is mounted in the light emitting diode package. In addition, the reflective metal layer 51 may reflect light transmitted through the distributed Bragg reflector 45. Therefore, the thickness of the distributed Bragg reflector 45 may be relatively reduced. The distributed Bragg reflector 45 shows relatively high reflectivity, but may transmit visible light of a long wavelength range having a large incident angle. Therefore, the reflective metal layer 51 may be disposed on the lower portion of the distributed Bragg reflector 45 to reflect light transmitted through the distributed Bragg reflector 45, thereby improving light emission efficiency.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, the distributed Bragg reflector 45 including the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 having high reflectivity for visible light of a is relatively long wavelength and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 having high reflectivity for visible light of a relatively short wavelength is provided, wherein the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 are stacked to form the distributed Bragg reflector 45. The distributed Bragg reflector 45 may increase the reflectivity for light over most of the visible range by a combination of the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50.

The distributed Bragg reflector according to the related art has high reflectivity for light of a specific wavelength range but has relatively low reflectivity for light of a different wavelength range, such that there is a limit in improving the light emission efficiency in the light emitting diode package emitting white light. However, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the distributed Bragg reflector 45 may have high reflectivity for light of the blue wavelength range as well as high reflectivity for light of the green wavelength range and light of the red wavelength range, thereby making it possible to improve light emission efficiency of the light emitting diode package.

In addition, as compared to the case where the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 is disposed to be closer to the substrate 21 than the first distributed Bragg reflector 40, the light loss in the distributed Bragg reflector 45 may be further reduced in the case where the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 is disposed to be closer to the substrate than the second distributed Bragg reflector 50.

Although the present exemplary embodiment describes two reflectors, i.e., the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50, more reflectors may be used. In this case, the reflectors having relatively higher reflectivity for a long wavelength may be positioned to be relatively closer to the light emitting structure 30.

In addition, in the present exemplary embodiment, the thicknesses of the first material layers 40 a within the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 may be different from each other. Further, the thicknesses of the second material layers 40 b may be different from each other. In addition, the thicknesses of the third material layers 50 a within the second distributed Bragg reflector 50 may be different from each other. Further, the thicknesses of the fourth material layers 50 b may be different from each other.

The present exemplary embodiment describes that the material layers 40 a, 40 b, 50 a, and 50 b are made of SiO₂ or TiO₂, but is not limited thereto. Therefore, they may be made of, other materials, for example, Si₃N₄, a compound semiconductor, or the like. However, the difference in the refractive indexes between the first material layer 40 a and the second material layer 40 b and the difference in the refractive indexes between the third material layer 50 a and the fourth material layer 50 b may be at least 0.5.

In addition, the larger the number of pairs of the first material layers 40 a and the second material layers 40 b in the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and the number of pairs of the third material layers 50 a and the fourth material layers 50 b in the second distributed Bragg reflector 50, the higher the reflectivity becomes. The total number of pairs may be 20 or more total pairs.

The surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 may be controlled before forming the distributed Bragg reflector 45. When the surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 is relatively large, it may be difficult to obtain high reflectivity over a wide wavelength range by the distributed Bragg reflector 45. When the interface between the distributed Bragg reflector 45 and the substrate 21 is defective, the distributed Bragg reflector 45 may be easily deformed. The deformation may cause a problem of reducing reflectivity of the is distributed Bragg reflector 45 even if a slight thermal process is applied when the light emitting diode chip is mounted in, for example, the light emitting diode package. The surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 may be controlled to have root-mean-square (RMS) value of 3 nm or less. Alternatively, the surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 may have an RMS value of 2 nm or less. In some embodiments, it may have an RMS value of 1 nm or less.

A method of fabricating a distributed Bragg reflector 45 and a light emitting diode chip will now be described.

First, the surface roughness of the substrate 21 is controlled before forming the distributed Bragg reflector 45. For example, the rear surface of the substrate 21 on which the light emitting structures are formed is primarily ground to remove a part of the substrate 21. In this case, the rear surface of the substrate 21 is scratched by the grinding, such that it is relatively very rough. Thereafter, the surface of the substrate 21 is lapped using slurry having small particles. In the lapping process, the depth of the groove such as the scratch in the surface of the substrate 21, etc., is reduced, thereby reducing the surface roughness. In this case, the surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 may be controlled to be 3 um or less by controlling a particle size of diamond slurry and a surface plate used in the lapping process. However, generally, it is difficult to control the surface roughness using only the lapping process using the surface plate and the slurry particle. Therefore, after reducing the surface roughness by the lapping process, the rear surface of the substrate 21 may be polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The surface roughness of the rear surface of the substrate 21 may be controlled up to 1 nm or less by the CMP process.

Then, the material layers having different refractive indexes, such as TiO₂, SiO₂, is and Si₃N₄, or the like are alternately deposited on the surface of the substrate 21. The deposition of the material layers may be made by various methods such as sputtering, electron beam deposition, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, etc. In particular, the ion assisted deposition may be used. The ion assisted deposition forms the material layers having the proper thickness by measuring the reflectivity of the material layer deposited on the substrate 21, such that it is suitable to form the material layers of the distributed Bragg reflector.

After the distributed Bragg reflector is formed, the metal layer may be formed on the distributed Bragg reflector. Thereafter, the substrate is diced, thereby completing the individual light emitting diode chips.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a distributed Bragg reflector 55 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The light emitting diode chip according to the present exemplary embodiment is substantially similar to the light emitting diode chip described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show and describe when the distributed Bragg reflector 45 has the stacked structure of the first distributed Bragg reflector 40 and the second distributed Bragg reflector 50. On the other hand, in the distributed Bragg reflector 55 according to the present exemplary embodiment, a plurality of pairs of first material layers 40 a and second material layers 40 b are mixed with a plurality of pairs of third material layers 50 a and a fourth material layers 50 b. In other words, at least one pair of the third material layer 50 a and the fourth material layer 50 b is positioned between the plurality of pairs of the first material layer 40 a and the second material layer 40 b. Further, at least one pair of the first material layer 40 a and the second material layer 40 b is positioned between the plurality of pairs of the third material layer 50 a and the fourth material layer 50 b. In this configuration, the optical thickness of the first to fourth material layers 40 a, 40 b, 50 a, and 50 b is controlled to have is high reflectivity for light over the wide visible range. Therefore, the optical thickness of each material layer configuring the distributed Bragg reflector may be different from each other.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a light emitting diode chip 20 a having a plurality of light emitting cells according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the light emitting diode chip 20 a includes a plurality of light emitting cells on the substrate 21. In addition, the light emitting diode chip 20 a may include a distributed Bragg reflector 45 and metal layers 51 and/or 53.

The substrate 21 and the distributed Bragg reflector 45 is similar to the distributed Bragg reflector described with referenced to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 and therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, the substrate 21 may be an insulator to electrically isolate the plurality of light emitting cells. For example, the substrate 21 may be a patterned sapphire substrate.

Meanwhile, the plurality of light emitting cells 30 are positioned to be spaced apart from each other. Each of the plurality of light emitting cells 30 is the same as the light emitting structure 30 with reference to FIG. 3 and the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the buffer layers 23 may be interposed between the light emitting cells 30 and the substrate 21 and the buffer layers 23 may be also spaced apart from each other.

The first insulating layer 37 covers the front surface of the light emitting cells 30. A first insulating layer 37 has openings on the first conductive-type semiconductor layers 25 and openings on the second conductive-type semiconductor layers 29. The side walls of the light emitting cells 30 are covered by the first insulating layer 37. The first insulating layer 37 also covers the substrate 21 in the regions between the light emitting cells 30. The first insulating is layer 37 may be formed of a silicon oxide (SiO₂) layer or a silicon nitride layer and may be a layer formed in a temperature range of 200° C. to 300° C. using a plasma chemical vapor deposition method. In this case, the first insulating layer 37 may be formed to have a thickness of 4500 Å to 1 μm. When the first insulating layer is formed to have a thickness less than 4500 Å, the first insulating layer having a relatively small thickness is formed due to step coverage characteristics at the bottom sides of the light emitting cells and an electrical short circuit between the wirings and the light emitting cells formed on the first insulating layer may occur. Meanwhile, as the thickness of the first insulating layer becomes greater, an electrical short circuit may be prevented but light transmittance may be deteriorated to reduce the luminous efficiency. Therefore, it is preferable that the first insulating layer is formed not to exceed a thickness of 1 μm.

Meanwhile, the wirings 39 are formed on the first insulating layer 37. The wirings 39 are electrically connected to the first conductive-type semiconductor layers 25 and the second conductive-type semiconductor layers 29 through the openings. The transparent electrode layers 31 may be disposed on the second conductive-type semiconductor layers 29 and the wirings may be connected to the transparent electrode layers 31. Further, the wirings 39 electrically connect the first conductive-type semiconductor layers 25 to the second conductive-type semiconductors 29, respectively, of the adjacent light emitting cells 30, such that a serial array of the light emitting cells 30 may be formed. A plurality of serial arrays may be formed and are connected to each other in reverse parallel so that they may be connected to an alternating current (AC) power supply. In addition, a bridge rectifier (not shown) connected to the serial arrays of the light emitting cells may be connected and the light emitting cells may be driven under the AC power supply by the bridge rectifier. The bridge rectifier may be formed by is connecting the light emitting cells having the same structure as the light emitting cells 30 using the wirings 29.

On the other hand, the wirings may connect the first conductive-type semiconductor layers 25 of the adjacent light emitting cells to each other or connect the second conductive-type semiconductor layers 29 of the adjacent light emitting cells to each other. Therefore, the plurality of light emitting cells 30 connected in series and parallel may be provided.

The wirings 39 may be made of a conductive material, for example, doped semiconductor material such as polycrystalline silicon or metal. In particular, the wirings 39 may be formed in a multi-layer structure and may include, for example, a lower layer of Cr or Ti and an upper layer of Cr or Ti. Further, the metal layer of Au, Au/Ni, or Au/Al may be interposed between the lower layer and the upper layer.

The second insulating layer 41 may cover the wirings 39 and the first insulating layer 37. The second insulating layer 41 prevents the wirings 39 from being polluted from moisture, or the like and prevents the wirings 39 and the light emitting cells 30 from being damaged from external impact.

The second insulating layer 41 may be formed of the same material as the first insulating layer 37 and the silicon oxide layer or the silicon nitride layer. The second insulating layer 41 may be a layer formed in the temperature range of 200° C. to 300° C. by using the PECVD method, similar to the first insulating layer. In addition, when the first insulating layer 37 is a layer formed by using the PECVD method, the second insulating layer 41 may be deposited in the temperature range of −20% to +20% for the deposition temperature of the first insulating layer 37, or may be deposited in the same deposition temperature.

Meanwhile, the second insulating layer 41 may be relatively thin as compared to the first insulating layer 37, and may have a thickness of 500 Å or more. The second insulating layer 41 is relatively thinner than the first insulating layer 37, which can prevent the second insulating layer from peeling off from the first insulating layer. In addition, when the second insulating layer is thinner than 2500 Å, it may be difficult to protect the wiring and the light emitting cell from external impact or moisture permeation.

Meanwhile, a phosphor layer 43 may be positioned on the light emitting diode chip 20 a. The phosphor layer 43 may be a layer in which resin is dispersed in a phosphor or a layer deposited by an electrophoresis method. The phosphor layer 43 covers the second insulating layer 41, thereby converting the wavelength of light emitted from the light emitting cells 30.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a light emitting diode chip 20 b having a plurality of light emitting cells according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the light emitting diode chip 20 b according to the present exemplary embodiment is substantially similar to the above-mentioned light emitting diode chip 20 a, but they are different in terms of the shape of the light emitting cells 30 and the portion of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25 to which the wirings 39 are connected.

That is, the light emitting cells 30 of the light emitting diode chip 20 a has the exposed upper surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor 25 and the wiring 39 is connected to the upper surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25. Unlike the light emitting diode chip 20 a, the light emitting cells 30 of the light emitting diode chip 20 b according to the present exemplary embodiment is formed to have an inclined side surface to is expose the inclined side surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25 and the wiring 39 is connected to the inclined side surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25.

Therefore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, there is no need to perform a separate process of exposing the upper surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25 other than the process of separating the light emitting cells, thereby making it possible to simplify the process. Further, there is no need to expose the upper surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25, thereby making it possible to prevent the area of the active layer 27 from being reduced. In addition, since the wiring 39 is connected along the inclined surface of the first conductive-type semiconductor layer 25, the current spreading performance of the light emitting cell 30 may be improved and thus, the forward voltage may be reduced and the reliability of the light emitting diode chip 20 b may be improved.

Experimental Example

FIG. 8 is a simulation graph showing a change in reflectivity of a distributed Bragg reflector according to an incident angle. In this case, the distributed Bragg reflector is made by alternately stacking SiO₂ and TiO₂ on a glass substrate by 40 layers. The thickness of each layer is individually controlled to have the reflectivity of 99% or more over the entire area of 400 nm to 700 nm at an incident angle of 0°. Therefore, the thickness of the entire distributed Bragg reflector is 2.908 μm. Meanwhile, in the case of the substantially used light emitting diode chip, light incident at an incident angle of about 60° or more is totally reflected due to the difference in refractive index between the sapphire substrate (n equals about 1.78) and SiO₂ (n equals about 1.48) and thus, the simulation for the incident angle of 60° or more is omitted. Meanwhile, the graph of FIG. 8 shows the entire visible area at the portion of 100% reflectivity is (which was similarly shown in the graph of FIG. 9).

As can be appreciated from the graph of FIG. 8, the distributed Bragg reflector of 40 layers shows very high reflectivity of 99% or more with reference to the incident angle of 0° in the entire visible area. However, as the incident angle of light incident to the distributed Bragg reflector is increased, it can be appreciated that the reflectivity for the visible light of a long wavelength is degraded. When the incident angle exceeds 30°, the reflectivity for light of 700 nm wavelength is reduced to 99% or less.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B each show examples of improving reflectivity for long wavelength incident light at an incident angle of 50° and 60° by increasing the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector.

Referring to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, as described in FIG. 8, in the case of the reference distributed Bragg reflector having 40 layers (40L) of 2.908 μm total thickness, the reflectivity)(40L-50°) for the incident angle of 50° and the reflectivity)(40L-60°) for the incident angle of 60° is reduced greater than the reflectivity)(40L-0°) for the incident angle of 0° in the visible area of a long wavelength. In addition, the portion where the reflectivity is degraded at the intermediate area of the visible area, for example, in the vicinity of 510 nm to 520 nm occurs.

However, when the number of layers of the distributed Bragg reflector is increased to 48 layers (total thickness: 3.829 μm) or 52 layers (total thickness: 4.367 μm), it is possible to obtain substantially uniform high reflectivity over the wide wavelength area even though the incident angle is large.

Therefore, an increase in the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector makes it possible to improve the reflectivity as well as maintain the high reflectivity for light incident at a large incident angle. However, the increase in the stacking number of the distributed is Bragg reflector leads to the increase in the process time and may result in cracks in the distributed Bragg reflector.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B each are plan views showing the distributed Bragg reflector after a dicing process is performed. In this case, FIG. 10A shows the case where the distributed Bragg reflector of 40 layers is stacked by an ion assisted deposition method and FIG. 10B shows the case in which the distributed Bragg reflector of 48 layers are stacked by the ion assisted deposition method.

When 40 layers are stacked (FIG. 10A), cracks do not occur in the distributed Bragg reflector and when 48 layers are stacked (FIG. 10B), cracks occur in the distributed Bragg reflector. When 52 layers are stacked (not shown), cracks may similarly occur.

The reason why cracks occurs in the distributed Bragg reflector is unclear, but is considered as being associated with the ion assisted deposition method. That is, since the high-density layers are deposited by colliding ions, stress is accumulated in the distributed Bragg reflector and thus, cracks may occur in the distributed Bragg reflector during the dicing of the substrate. Therefore, it may not be suitable to mass-produce the light emitting diode chip by simply increasing the stacking number.

In connection with this understanding, as described in FIG. 3, the reflective metal layer may be formed in the distributed Bragg reflector, such that the relatively high reflectivity for light having a large incident angle may be maintained.

Table 1 shows the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector, a kind of epoxy, and a relative light emission efficiency in the white light emitting diode package state according to whether the reflective metal layer (A1) is applied. In these experimental examples, except for the distributed Bragg reflector, the reflective metal layer, and the type of epoxy, other conditions, for example, the kind of the light emitting diode chip and the kind of the package are the same. The stacking number of layers of the distributed Bragg reflector is 40 and the relative light emission efficiency with respect to the light emission efficiency of the light emitting diode package (sample number 1) of the light emitting diode chip to which the A1 reflective metal layer is not applied (shown by an “X”) is represented by %.

TABLE 1 Apply Reflec- Relative Light Sample Stacking tive Metal Emission No. Number Layer(Al) Kind of Epoxy Efficiency (%) 1 40 Layer X Silver Epoxy 100 2 40 Layer X Transparent 106.8 Epoxy 3 40 Layer ◯ Silver Epoxy 109.7 4 40 Layer ◯ Transparent 108.6 Epoxy 5 48 Layer X Silver Epoxy 106.4 6 48 Layer X Transparent 110.9 Epoxy 7 48 Layer ◯ Silver Epoxy 109.8

Comparing samples 1 and 2, and samples 5 and 6, when the A1 reflective metal layer is not applied, it can be appreciated that the difference in the light emission efficiency appears according to the kind of epoxy used as an adhesive. That is, a sample using a transparent epoxy shows higher light emission efficiency than in a sample using a silver epoxy. This shows that the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflectivity is affected by the adhesive, when there is no A1 reflective metal layer.

Meanwhile, when the same kind of adhesive is used, the sample to which the A1 reflective metal layer is applied (shown by an “0”) shows higher light emission efficiency than other samples. For example, comparing samples 1 and 3, samples 2 and 4, and samples 5 and 7, it can be appreciated that the light emission efficiency is improved when the A1 reflective metal layer is applied.

Meanwhile, comparing sample 1 and sample 5, and sample 2 and sample 6, when the same adhesive is used and the A1 reflective metal layer is not applied, it can be appreciated is that the light emission efficiency is improved according to the increase in the stacking number. It is understood that the increase of the stacking number of distributed Bragg reflector improves reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector in the wide incident angle range, thereby resulting to improvement of the light emission efficiency.

However, comparing sample 3 and sample 7, when the A1 reflective metal layer and the silver epoxy are applied, there is no difference in the light emission efficiency despite the increase in stacking number. Relatively high reflectivity is maintained for the visible light of the long wavelength having a large incident angle by the A1 reflective metal layer. Therefore, when the distributed Bragg reflector and the reflective metal layer are applied, it can be appreciated that the good light emission efficiency can be achieved at the package level while reducing the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector. In addition, the reduction in the stacking number of the distributed Bragg reflector can prevent cracks occurring in the distributed Bragg reflector.

Meanwhile, when the A1 reflective metal layer is applied to the distributed Bragg reflector, it is observed that the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector is reduced at the chip level. This phenomenon is considered as being closely associated with the surface roughness of the substrate. Hereinafter, it will be described that the surface roughness of the is substrate has an effect on the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector at the chip level.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector according to whether or not the CMP is performed after a sapphire substrate lapping process using a copper surface plate.

First, after the rear surface of the sapphire substrate is ground, the lapping process using the copper surface plate was performed by using the diamond slurry having a particle of 3 μm. After the lapping process was performed using the copper surface plate, the surface roughness of the rear surface of the sapphire substrate showed a root-mean-square (RMS) value of about 5.12 nm at an area of 5 μm×5 μm.

Thereafter, after the rear surface of the sapphire substrate is subjected to the CMP process, the above-mentioned first distributed Bragg reflector and second distributed Bragg reflector are formed by controlling the thickness of TiO₂ and SiO₂ to fabricate the sample (Example 1). On the other hand, the comparative example directly formed the distributed Bragg reflector similar to Example 1 without performing the CMP process to fabricate the sample. The CMP process was performed using a slurry of SiO₂ at a load of 20 kg and the surface roughness of the sapphire substrate showed the RMS value of about 0.25 nm at an area of 5 μm×5 μm after the CMP process.

In the case of the comparative example, the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector showed approximately 90% or more in the visible range as shown in FIG. 10, but the reflectivity was irregular according to the wavelength and showed the value of 90% or less in the vicinity of 550 nm. On the other hand, in the case of example 1, most of the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector showed a value close to 100% over the wide wavelength range of the visible light.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the reflectivity after an aluminum layer of about 500 nm is deposited on the sample fabricated in the same manner as the example and the comparative example of FIG. 11.

In the case of comparative example, it was confirmed that the reflectivity was considerably reduced after A1 was deposited. On the other hand, in the case of the example, high reflectivity was maintained without reducing reflectivity even after A1 was deposited.

In the comparative example, it is considered as the phenomenon that the reduction in the reflectivity is showed after A1 was deposited since the distributed Bragg reflector according to the comparative example formed on the sapphire surface having a rough surface was deformed by the interfacial defect while the A1 was deposited using the electronic beam deposition technology. In the case of the example 1, since the surface roughness of the sapphire substrate is good, it is determined that reflectivity was maintained without deforming the distributed Bragg reflector while A1 is deposited.

FIG. 13, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are graphs showing the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector according to a size of a slurry particle during the lapping process using a tin surface plate.

In this configuration, the size of the slurry included in the diamond particle and the diamond particle was 3 μm, 4 μm, and 6 μm, respectively. The surface roughness of the sapphire substrate showed the RMS value of about 2.40 nm, 3.35 nm, and 4.18 nm according to the size of the diamond particle after the lapping process was performed using a tin surface plate.

The same distributed Bragg reflector as Example 1 was formed after the lapping process was performed by the tin surface plate and A1 of 500 nm was deposited as in the example of FIG. 8.

As could be appreciated from the figures, the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector was 90% or more over the wide wavelength range of the visible range after the lapping process was performed using the slurry of 3 μm and the tin surface plate. However, when the A1 was deposited, the reflectivity was slightly reduced in the vicinity of 550 nm.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector does not reach 90% in the vicinity of 550 nm after the lapping process was performed using the slurry of 4 μm or 6 μm and the tin surface plate, and the reflectivity was reduced to 80% or less after A1 was deposited.

It can be appreciated from the above experimental example that the surface roughness of the sapphire substrate has an effect on the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector before the distributed Bragg reflector is formed. In addition, when the surface roughness of the sapphire substrate is controlled to have the RMS value of 3 nm or less, the reflectivity characteristics were relatively improved. Further, when the surface roughness of the sapphire substrate is 1 nm or less, it is expected that the reflectivity would not be reduced even after A1 was deposited.

As apparent from the above description, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide the distributed Bragg reflector having high reflectivity over the wide visible range to improve light efficiency of the light emitting diode package implementing mixed color light, for example, white light. Further, it is also possible to reliably secure the reflectivity of the distributed Bragg reflector by controlling the surface roughness of the surface of the substrate on which the distributed Bragg reflector is formed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variation can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of fabricating a light emitting diode chip, the method comprising: forming a light emitting structure on a first surface of a substrate, the light emitting structure comprising: a first conductive-type semiconductor layer; a second conductive-type semiconductor layer; and an active layer disposed between the first conductive-type semiconductor layer and the second conductive-type semiconductor layer; removing a portion of the substrate by grinding a second surface of the substrate; after the grinding, reducing the surface roughness of the second surface of the substrate by lapping the substrate; and forming a distributed Bragg reflector on the second surface of the substrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a reflective metal layer or a protective layer on the distributed Bragg reflector.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface roughness of the second surface of the substrate comprises a root-mean-square (RMS) value of 3 nm or less before forming the distributed Bragg reflector.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributed Bragg reflector comprises a reflectivity of at least 90% for light of a first wavelength in a blue wavelength range, light of a second wavelength in a green wavelength range, and light of a third wavelength in a red wavelength range.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface roughness of the second surface of the substrate comprises a root-mean-square (RMS) value of 1 nm or less before forming the distributed Bragg reflector
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising polishing the second surface of the substrate by a chemical mechanical polishing process after performing the lapping.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising polishing the second surface of the substrate using a chemical mechanical polishing process.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the distributed Bragg reflector comprises using ion assisted deposition. 